Study Material: I Samuel 17:37-3837 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. Today’s Teaching:The children of Israel were confronted by the Philistines and taunted for 40 days by the giant Goliath. Nobody could handle this threat; and the giant mocked them. The young David stepped forward showing courage when the big guys of Israel ran in fear. David gave the king his spiritual CV of how the Lord was with him in battle against deadly animals, and then King Saul blessed David (v37) and sent him forth. He then took his armour, and gave every piece to David (v38). David went to battle; and as we know of this very popular story, David defeated Goliath.

At this point, King Saul took a liking to David and of course, his son Jonathan did as well. After all, wouldn’t you if you were king? This young man had taken down a giant enemy of Israel. And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants (I Sam 18:5). But something happened. The women of Israel started to sing the praises of David as he came back from battle. In their song, the credited David as being more valiant in battle than Saul; and that was the beginning of David’s problem.

People sing your praises today because of how you have helped them and supported them; but how soon they forget. King Saul immediately saw David as an enemy and started to pursue him to kill him. People whom you rescue, support, deliver and promote are often the same ones who try to destroy you. But God is alive and He sees. The season of life changed for David overnight when he killed Goliath. He found favour; but as soon as people praised him, the season changed drastically again; and not for good.

Take Home Lesson: The same people who praise you today are the ones who will try to destroy you tomorrow. How soon they forget.

Homework: Pray for your friends and foes because they can be hard to distinguish. Ask God for the grace to endure and overcome every seasonal change that is negative.